Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

How does the brain construct a "self," the essence of who we are as individuals? And how does the self respond to the deconstruction of its brain? A neuropsychologist with twenty-five years' experience and a runner-up for the prestigious Wellcome Trust Science Prize, Paul Broks writes with a doctor's precision and clarity in a series of narratives about the fascinating world of the neurologically impaired, delving not only into the inner lives of his patients but into a deeper understanding of how we define who we are.

In "The Sea and the Almond," a young woman who suffers from daily grand mal seizures agrees to a radical surgery that involves removal of the amygdala (from the Greek for almond) and part of the hippocampus (seahorse), which is responsible for memory and all conscious recall. "I Think Therefore I Am Dead" is both a meditation on human consciousness and an intimate case study chronicling Brok's efforts in working with a patient suffering from a debilitating illness that has no diagnosis or cure.

Broks intersperses his accounts of these rare conditions with illuminating studies of what neuroscience can and cannot teach us about the mechanisms that allow us to define ourselves as individuals.

Review:

"With great clarity and easy humor, Broks grapples with philosophical questions....He illuminates the deep fissures and crannies in the nature of individuality..." Bernadette Murphy, The Los Angeles Times

Review:

"A tour-de-force intertwining of the clinical, the personal, the fictive, and the philosophical that doesn't always satisfy, but certainly keeps the pages turning." Kirkus Reviews

Review:

"While [Broks] has readers chewing those insoluble nuggets, he tells his patients' and his own riveting stories, at least one of which, 'To be two or not to be,' is science fiction of the very highest order." Ray Olson, Booklist

Review:

"While he offers no answers, [Broks] does suggest ways that the ego might arise. General readers will find this a thoughtful, absorbing, and, at times, humorous book." Library Journal

Review:

"The new Oliver Sacks." The Times (London)

Review:

"Into the Silent Land is a small, strange, beautiful gem — a brilliant lattice of arresting neurological tales, hard-nosed contemplation, and, unexpectedly, a certain wistfulness. Broks is as much poet as scientist, and in this indelible book, he leads us effortlessly into an unfathomable mystery — how that pale substance we call the brain could create something so etheral and individual as a human mind." Atul Gawande, author of Complications

Synopsis:

A neuropsychologist and a runner-up for the prestigious Wellcome Trust Science Prize, Broks writes with a doctor's precision and clarity in a series of narratives about the fascinating world of the neurologically impaired, delving not only into the inner lives of his patients but also into a deeper understanding of how they define who they are.

Table of Contents

Different Lives 3 The Space behind the Face 17 The Seahorse and the Almond 22 The Sword of the Sun 39 Soul in a Bucket 42 In the Theatre 57 A-Z 65 The Mirror 67 The Visible Man 71 I Think Therefore I Am Dead 89 Vodka and Saliva 105 Body Art 114 The Story of Einstein's Brain 117 Articles of Faith 123 Right This Way, Smiles a Mermaid 132 The Ghost Tree (1) 147 The Ghost Tree (2) 158 The Dreams of Robert Louis Stevenson 171 Voodoo Child (Slight Return) 181 Mr. Barrington's Quandary 196 Out of Darkness Cometh Light 200 To Be Two or Not to Be 204 Gulls 226 Further Reading 537 Acknowledgements 246

"Review"
by Bernadette Murphy, The Los Angeles Times,
"With great clarity and easy humor, Broks grapples with philosophical questions....He illuminates the deep fissures and crannies in the nature of individuality..."

"Review"
by Kirkus Reviews,
"A tour-de-force intertwining of the clinical, the personal, the fictive, and the philosophical that doesn't always satisfy, but certainly keeps the pages turning."

"Review"
by Ray Olson, Booklist,
"While [Broks] has readers chewing those insoluble nuggets, he tells his patients' and his own riveting stories, at least one of which, 'To be two or not to be,' is science fiction of the very highest order."

"Review"
by Library Journal,
"While he offers no answers, [Broks] does suggest ways that the ego might arise. General readers will find this a thoughtful, absorbing, and, at times, humorous book."

"Review"
by The Times (London),
"The new Oliver Sacks."

"Review"
by Atul Gawande, author of Complications,
"Into the Silent Land is a small, strange, beautiful gem — a brilliant lattice of arresting neurological tales, hard-nosed contemplation, and, unexpectedly, a certain wistfulness. Broks is as much poet as scientist, and in this indelible book, he leads us effortlessly into an unfathomable mystery — how that pale substance we call the brain could create something so etheral and individual as a human mind."

"Synopsis"
by Ingram,
A neuropsychologist and a runner-up for the prestigious Wellcome Trust Science Prize, Broks writes with a doctor's precision and clarity in a series of narratives about the fascinating world of the neurologically impaired, delving not only into the inner lives of his patients but also into a deeper understanding of how they define who they are.

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